Barrel House 211

Late Saturday morning my wife and I decide to fight the throng of people downtown Davenport for the Bix 7 road race.  We stopped at Great River to see if any of our friends that ran the race would show up, none of them did so we went a few blocks down the road to a new bar, Barrel House 211.  This was their first weekend open and there were a few rough edges that will get smoothed down as time goes by.  Inside the bar has a modern look to it.

They have only six taps, which my wife and I found a bit odd since they named their business the Barrel House we felt they would have much more in tap beer.  The six taps they had were Bud light, Coors light, Shock top, Sam Adams seasonal and two Great River beers.  So they at least have some good options for tap beer.  The bottle and can selection was mainly the mass produced stuff, but they do have some good bottles to chose from.  Included in that were bottles from Millstream, Boulevard, and New Belgium.

This place has promise to be a interesting stop in Davenport.  Especially if they are open to suggestions and requests from their clientele.

QC Beerguy

Now that's what you do with cards

So I found myself back in Lincoln, NE tonight and went back to Yia Yia's Pizza for some good pizza and some really good beer.  As those of you that know me I leave my business card in the Men's room of every place I go to.  So I take a seat at the bar and look down and see a bunch of flyers and other stuff.  Then I notice a familiar business card, yep the QCBG card.  So unlike up in Milwaukee where I witnessed the desecration of my card in a urinal, my cards were brought out into public.  So I can not help but think "No peeing here!"  and I laugh silently to myself.  Somebody here likes me, or at least the card.

When the bartender finally has a moment he comes over and grabs my order for a slice of za and a beer.  The beer I chose to start with was Great Divide's Belgian Style Yeti http://www.greatdivide.com/, which is an Imperial stout brewed with Belgian yeast.  My pint comes pitch black with a hint of a tan head.  The nose is of dark roast, but cut with sweetness and a hint of Belgian yeast character.  Flavor is pretty much the same, just understated.  As far as this being a great different beer, I can not say it is.  Grade "C-", there are much better Imperial stouts and Belgian stouts out there.

Second beer up was Upstream's Rye Lemonade http://www.upstreambrewing.com/SeasonBeers.aspx, a rye larger with lemon.  I can not say that this is a radler and from the description on the website it is not.  It is medium gold with a slight white head.  The aroma is grainy, slightly spicy and a hint of lemon.  Taste is of a clean lager, slightly spicy from the rye and a hint of pilsner malt.  The lemon  is understated at best.  I am not impressed with this beer.  Grade "C-", it is neither a good lager nor a radler.  I would not have another one.

Unfortunately tonight I did not hit upon really good beer, but at least I can say I had beers worth trying.

Finally I will be on my way home tomorrow PM, a word of warning to my wife!  LOL

QC Beerguy

Weasy's in Spencer, IA

So I find myself in cosmopolitan Spencer, IA tonight and as a suggested to me by a friend,  I went to a "dive" bar, Weasy's.  It is less of a dive bar than say Budde's in Galesburg, but it had a much worse selection of a beer.  Weasy's is really a townies bar and grille.  I went in and found a spot at the bar, along side some of the locals that were out have a couple cocktails after their workday.  Weasy's has a varied clientele from families to 20 somethings to the grey haired crowd.  So pretty much anyone that is local makes it into this place.

Onto the beer part.  I notice as I am taking a seat that they have all of 5 taps Bud, Bud Light, Mich Golden, Amberbock and Sam Adams Lager.  I'm sure you can guess what I ordered, yep that's right Sam.  As I am looking at the menu to decide on my dinner, I notice on the back page the list of their bottle and canned beer, everything was the mass produced stuff.  At least they had Sam Adams.  I did notice that they had Millstream soda but no Millstream beer.

As I look around the place I see that it is decorated with softball mementos as well as Miami Dolphin collectibles.  So to surmise the owner played softball and is a Miami Dolphin fan.  Also I noticed that most of the softball stuff had Budweiser on it somewhere, the local Bud dealer must of sponsored the teams.

Well I made my first adventure into the unknown of the local "dive" bars.  I hope this might be a blog that happens occasionally as I make my rounds.  Jim, thank you for the idea!

Tomorrow night back to Lincoln, NE unsure where I will go, maybe Yia Yia's ar someplace else.  Until tomorrow night.

QC Beerguy   

Yia Yia's Pizza and some really good beer

So last night I said I had my eye on a new place in Lincoln and I am delivering.  I went to Yia Yia's Pizza and Beer https://www.facebook.com/yiayias tonight after reading some really good reviews on the place.  I can say that for the most part the good reviews are true.  They sell pizza by the slice or by the whole pie and you can name your toppings.  This is a thin crust New York style pizza, that people come in for by the slice.  When ordering you go to the cash register and order, then in a few minutes you pick up your slice in the delivery area.  Also each slice comes with a hunk of bread. The pizza is really good and has some odd ingredients available including almonds and walnuts.  I can attest that they both belong on a pizza.

The main reason I went was the promise of a good beer bar with probably the biggest selection of beer in Nebraska.  I do not know if that is true but they do have a big beer selection.  On tap they have about 10 beers and at least a couple of hundred bottles, including Great River Brewery beer from Davenport, IA.  Nice to see some thing local 6 plus hours away from home. 

I sat at the bar as usual and was quickly waited upon for my order for beer. Also the bartenders serve as the order takers as well so if you sit at the bar be prepared to wait sometimes for service, it all depends on how many people are ordering pizza.   My first choice was a tap of Boulevard Collaboration No.2 White IPA http://www.boulevard.com/BoulevardBeers/collaboration-2/, a collaboration beer brewed between Boulevard and Deuschutes.  As the name says it is a white IPA, it is a Belgian Wit hopped liked an IPA.  I know its sounds like a train wreck, but it is really very good.  It is pale gold with a white head.  Aroma is citrus hops, orange zest, and malt.  Taste is everything I said above as well as a nice grainy wheat to the beer. This is a nice beer that I was intrigued by but did not know if I would like it.  Grade "B+", worth hunting for and buying.

My second beer I ordered was Nebraska Brewing's Summertime Rye http://www.nebraskabrewingco.com/main.asp.  I really like the beers I have had from Nebraska Brewing Company and Summertime Rye is very good.  The bad thing was I had about the last 6 ounces of the beer, I ran the keg dry.   It is a yellow beer with a firm white head. Aroma was spicy and had grainy, bready notes.  Taste was clean, crisp, peppery and offset with the use of Citra hops.  This would be a really good lawnmower beer.  Grade "A-", find it and drink it!

Since I did not have a full pint I ordered a third beer Thunderhead Brewing's Chocolate Orange Porter http://www.thunderheadbrewing.com/.  Yes you read that correctly a chocolate orange porter, another beer that does not sound like it would work but it does work very well.  Think of those chocolate orange things that are wrapped in foil to look like an orange, I am sure that this beer is like that thing.  It is an almost black beer and is it or is it just my imagination an orange tint to the beer, probably my imagination.  It has a tan head that is gone in a blink, so look quick.  The nose is roast, chocolate and of course orange.  Flavor is all of those three ingredients as well.  The chocolate is like a semi-sweet chocolate.  As the beer warms the chocolate becomes stronger and the orange mellows.  I can not believe that I am saying this but this beer works.  Grade "B", a very good novelty beer that probably I would not want to sit down and drink a bunch of.

Tomorrow night Spencer, IA.  I believe I will do what I was requested to do and find a dive bar and see what "craft" beer they have and go from there.

QC Beerguy

Crescent Moon Omaha, NE and Lucky Bucket Beers

Back in Omaha and decided to go explore Crescent Moon http://www.beercornerusa.com/ more and see if it is a real beer bar or not.  From my evening there I have to say that Crescent Moon does make the cut as a real beer bar.  They have about 40 tap beers and over 100 bottles of beer.  They have pretty much the typical bar food burgers, wings, chicken sandwiches and the like. The main event though is the beer, they have beers from six different Nebraska breweries on tap a nice touch.

If you remember when I was first introduced to Crescent Moon, I said it was part of what they call Beer Corner USA.  This includes Beertopia a beer store, Huber Haus a German Bier Hall and Max and Joe's a Belgian beer bar.  I went into Beertopia looking for some beer that I can not buy in Illinois or Iowa and I was able to do that.  I am coming home with some beer from Lucky Bucket, Jolly Pumpkin and Thunderhead, so I am happy.  This is a good beer store that is far from huge but packs a lot of beer into a small area.  If you are in Omaha this is a good place to check out.

I have previously blogged about Lucky Bucket Certified Evil, which I love and I am coming home with some.  But tonight I had the other two beers from Lucky Bucket on tap at Crescent Moon.  First beer up is the Pre-Prohibition Lager, a really good American Lager.  It is a pale yellow beer with a thin white head.  Aroma is clean, with a noticeable hop punch and a sweet malt nose offset with a bit of sulfur from pils malt, I believe. This is a really nice thirst quenching beer.  If you can find it grab it.  Grading this beer I give it an "A".

Second beer is Lucky Bucket IPA, a nicely balanced American IPA.  The beer is amber in color with a long lasting white head.  The aroma is piney, resinous hops and sweet grainy malt.  The beer is a balance of malt and hops in the mouth and it finishes dry.  This is a really good classic American IPA, again if you can find it buy it.  For a grade I give this beer a "B+".


Tomorrow I will be in Lincoln and have my eye on somewhere new to try.  I will let you know what I think of it.

QC Beerguy

Lake Bluff Brewing Company and Mickey Finn's Brewery

After our daughter finished up her interview process Friday afternoon we decided to go check out a couple breweries in the area.  All things were looking good.  We first headed to Lake Bluff Brewing Company in of course Lake Bluff, IL http://www.lbbrew.com/index.html which is way up on the north side of Chicagoland.  Pulling up to the brewery we noticed the quaint downtown area that the brewery is in.  Across the street from the brewery is a cool city park and the brewery is next to a noodle based restaurant.

As we walked to the brewery the first thing we noticed is the tables they have outside to sit at, as we came up they were mainly full.  The inside of the brewery is nothing fancy, a cool bar and bar back, a row of table and chairs along each wall.  This place is designed for socializing and enjoying good craft beer.  They have a very small food menu maybe 10 items at the most, as well they offer around 6 wines.  Otherwise it is about the beer and the beer does a good job of being the star.

My wife and I had a sampler of the six tap beers, while our daughter had a glass of wine, she does not care for beer.  Oh well more for me!  First beer up Americana 101 Wheat, it is what you would expect from an American wheat. Light straw in color, hazy with a white head, taste is of grainy wheat and the yeast profile you expect from an American wheat.  We both agreed that we were not overly enthused about the beer.

The second beer was Bohemian Blonde on the other hand this was a really good beer. It was my favorite and my wife's second favorite.  The beer was clear, straw in color with a white head.  Some hints of sulfur leading me to believe there was some Pils malt involved in the brewing process.  Also some light fruitiness in the taste as well, the finish was nicely crisp.

The third beer was Inspiration Pale Ale, kind of the average Am. Pale Ale.  It was amber in color with a white head.  Aroma is of piney hops. There is a malt backbone to carry the hops to the finish.  The beer finishes dry and a bit harsh.  As the beer warmed it mellowed and developed a bit of orange taste to it.  So sit back and let this one warm and it will improve.

Next beer was Soft Tail IPA a good enjoyable IPA.  It is medium gold in color, hazy with a white head.  Aromas are piney, grassy and earthy hop notes.  There is a good amount of malt to carry the hop load and smooth out the beer.  A good balance between the hops and malt is achieved and makes this a very drinkable beer.

Hard Tail  IIPA, Soft Tail's big brother was the next offering.  This was my second favorite and surprisingly my wife enjoyed it as well.  The beer is almost identical to Soft Tail in appearance perhaps just a slight shade darker gold in color.  Hops rush into the nose but also a good amount malt to almost balance the hops.  This is a smooth drinking beer that does indeed pack a hop punch, making this a really good IIPA.  Watch out though this is a 8.8% ABV beer, that really does not seem to be that high in alcohol.

Lastly is Black Squirrel a bourbon infused  stout at 8% ABV this beer does pack a punch.  It is a dark brown with an off white head.  Aroma is of dark roast, chocolate, with a bit of bourbon and vanilla.  The taste mirrors the aroma and the bourbon becomes more pronounced as the beer warms.  The only thing I can ding it on is I wish it was a fuller bodied beer.

If you are in the Northern suburbs of Chicagoland find this place and go enjoy some beer from a new brewpub; it has been open less than a year.  If they continue to pump out good quality beers it will be around for a good amount of time.

We then drove over to Mickey Finn's in Libertyville, IL http://www.mickeyfinnsbrewery.com/ to try some more beer and to have dinner.  Not surprisingly on a Friday night at around 7pm we had to wait a few minutes for a table, but not overly long.  Once seated in the main dining area where we were greeted fairly quickly by our waitress.  When the dining area is full like Friday night it is extremely loud and does detract from being able to carry on a good conversation.  The food is good, both my wife and I had burgers and our daughter had steak tacos.  One word of warning the fries are bad,  they were limp, stale and soggy.  My wife and I split a sampler of 6 beers.

The beer making up the sampler were Valkrie Pils, 847 Suburban Ale, Gudenteit Hefe, MF Amber, Paint It Black IPA and Oatmeal Stout.

The Valkrie Pils was a very good beer which would be a really good lawn mower beer.  It was pale yellow with a white head.  Taste was light, crisp, clean and a slight blueberry fruitiness.  The beer was clear and had a moderate mouth feel.

847 Suburban Ale is an American wheat ale, not a favorite style of mine.  Appearance is straw yellow, hazy and a white head.  With a grainy wheat character in the the taste, also a slight butteriness is present as well.  Not a winner for me.

Gudenteit Hefe is a German Hefeweizen and is true to the style.  The beer is straw yellow, hazy with a white head.  The aroma and flavor match what you would expect from a hefe, banana and cloves.  This is a good summer drinker beer.  If you are at Mickey Finn's this is worth a consideration.

MF Amber, Mickey Finn's Amber, is one of their most popular beers and they sell it in cans locally.  It is amber in color with a white head.  Aroma is of citrus hops and some sweet caramel.  Taste is of citrus and caramel sweet malt.  I agree this beer is really good and deserves to be distributed beyond the brewery.

Paint it Black IPA, as it states in the name this is a black IPA and not usually a favorite of mine.  It is deep brown with an off white head. Aroma is of citrus hops, roasty and sweet malts.  The taste is fairly evenly balanced between the malt and hops which makes it drinkable to me.  For me this is a pretty good black IPA.

Oatmeal Stout was black and had a tan head.  This beer is served on nitrogen.  Aroma is roasty with a noticeable oatmeal graininess.  The beer is smooth creamy and slightly sweet.  There is a nice slickness from the oats as well.  This is a very good beer and should be a consideration when you are at Mickey Finn's.

Mickey Finn's make some good beers and worth a stop if in the area.  Also just up the street are a couple of good beer bars worth a stop.  So check out The Firkin and The Tavern on the Town.

This week I will be heading to Nebraska and hope to hit a couple new spots, so look for those reviews upcoming this week.

QC Beerguy

Dark Horse Scotty Karate Scotch Ale and 21st Amendment Hop Crisis IIPA

This evening I began with Scotty Karate Scotch Ale by Dark Horse Brewing in Marshall, MI http://www.darkhorsebrewery.com/content.asp?PageName=OurBrew. It is a "strong" scotch ale checking in at 9.75% ABV.  It pours dark brown with an off white head that does not persists.  Aroma is slightly smoky with nice sweet caramel notes, also some roasty notes no noticeable hop aroma.  Taste is very much like the aroma with the addition of some dark fruit flavors and the alcohol does come through as well.  This is a light bodied beer with some sweetness in the mouth.  This is a very enjoyable be overall, I give this beer an "A".

Second beer was Hop Crisis IIPA by 21st Amendment in San Francisco, CA http://21st-amendment.com/beer/hop-crisis.  Though I am sure it was actually brewed and canned in MN at Cold Spring Brewing, since they are the contract brewery for 21st Amendment.  Because of that the beer is available in MN, thus how I was able to purchase it.  The beer pours straw gold with a good white head with hints of yellow.  Aroma is of hops, specifically the northwest variety type citrus and piney.  Also there is a slight grainy malt backbone to the beer.  Flavor is the hops grapefruit the most but also some pineiness as well.  The malt is deep in the background with the alcohol being more noticeable than the grainy sweet malt.  Mouthfeel is a bit light for the style and dry, thus leading me to think that they use white sugar to reach the ABV of 9.7%.  There is a noticeable hop snap at the end of the beer and the grapefruit flavors last to the end of the beer.    The beer uses 6 different hops and is aged on oak as well, so I am sure that adds to the dryness of the beer.  A nice beer receiving a grade of "B",  a nice IIPA but there are better ones out there.  Think of Hop Slam, Double Crooked Tree and Abrasive Ale to name a few.

QC Beerguy

Hinterland Luna Coffee Stout and Bell's Christmas Ale

First up tonight is Hinterland Luna Coffee Stout from Hinterland Brewery in Green Bay, WI http://www.hinterlandbeer.com/LunaStout.html.  Yes, I am drinking and rating a beer from the hated Green Bay Packer land.  Go Bears!  The beer pours dark brown with some garnet highlights with a  thick dark tan head.  Aroma is noticeably coffee with lots of dark roast aroma, with a hint of chocolate.  Taste is of coffee, dark roast and semi-sweet chocolate.  Slightly creamy body, but yet still a fairly thin bodied beer.  The beer finishes dry, roasty with very noticeable acidity, which detracts from the beer.  This is a good coffee stout, but not a the top of my list.  The body thinness and the acidity makes me downgrade the beer.  The beer checks in at 5.8% ABV and it comes in a 16 ounce bottle, so this is not your average session stout.  Overall I give this beer a "B-" grade.

The second beer tonight is Bell's Christmas Ale from Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI (or there about since there are about three places listed as to where they brew)  http://www.bellsbeer.com/brands/.  Bell's is one of those breweries for me that I will drink just about anything from them and usually I like it.  The beer pours a light amber with a thick ivory head.  Aroma is sweet with slight fruit bread aromas, finished by some light citrus hops.  Taste is sweet caramel with the hints of the fruit bread and slight spice notes.  Body is medium with a noticeable chewiness and a good amount of carbonation.    This is a nice beer, but not one of Bell's best.  The ABV is 5.5% , this is not your average Christmas Ale no spice and smaller than most.  I give this beer a "C+" grade.


Also a note about an upcoming beer event this weekend.  Niabi Zoo in the Quad Cities is hosting a "Pints for Pachyderms" event on Friday July 22nd, I believe it starts at 5pm but check with the Zoo for exact details.  The funds go to enlarging the Elephant habitat and finding a third elephant.  We will be out of town, but it sounds like lots of fun.

QC Beerguy

Beer Know it All

Tonight I went to El Bait Shop in Des Moines and unwittingly sat close to a man that I will call the Beer Know it All.  This man had an opinion on every beer know to man and it seemed like each beer he talked about was the greatest beer known to man.  These included Belzebuth, Lindeman's Framboise, and New Belgium  Lips of Faith Super Cru. 

He found this young couple that were out for an evening enjoying some beer and interjected himself as to what they should be drinking.  He bought them a couple of beers as well as telling them what to drink.  He kept up a continuous amount of babble.  He did not even slow when a couple members of the homebrew club came over after their meeting.    This man had an opinion on every beer and that he knew better than anyone as to what is good beer.   When challenged, his fall back position was that he had a bottle of Utopia back home in Minnesota.


I guess my point is tonight is that I do not believe that I am even close to this man, but those around me know better than I.  So if I resemble this man, I apologize for being that person, but I do not believe I am that way.  So  keep spreading the gospel of the great beer!

QC Beerguy 

Great River Special Tapping of Widespread Wit

Saturday afternoon Great River Brewery held a special tapping of their Widespread Wit.  I was looking forward to trying this beer, since a wit beer is considered a great summer beer.  Yesterday proved to be a good test for the beer. 

As far as the beer is concerned it does look and taste the part.  It is a hazy straw color with a dense white head.  The flavor matches what you would expect from a wit as well.  It has a noticeable bready, graininess as well as a hint of tartness.  There is a subtle but yet noticeable orange peel flavor as well.  Also a certain spiciness is present, which is usually attributed to coriander.  This beer is medium bodied with a crisp finish and a slight mouth puckering tartness.  Overall I do enjoy this beer, I only have a slight detraction and from talking with other people at the tapping I may be the only one that thinks this.  There is a bit of bitter pithiness from the orange peel, that detracts a bit from the beer.  This is remedied by adding a slice of orange to the beer, the sweetness of the orange offsets the slight bitterness.

This beer does prove to be a good drinkable summer beer and will certainly be tested in the up coming week since the are calling for an extensive heat wave.  I would encourage every one to head on down and have a Widespread Wit.  As an aside the beer is organic as they say in their advertising, "Don't Panic it's Organic!"

QC Beerguy   

Old Thumper ESA and Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale

My wife and I went to dinner with another couple Friday evening and decided on Cafe Indigo of which I have previously talked about.  The food was awesome as previously stated and they still have a very good beer list.  The waitstaff is excellent as well and the funny thing is one of the waiters recognized me from our last visit.  Tonight I wound up having three beers of which two I had not previously reviewed.

First up Old Thumper ESA http://www.shipyard.com/taste/ from Shipyard Brewing in Portland, ME, which my wife and I have visited when we were out in Maine a couple years ago.  In the name they use ESA standing for Extra Special Ale, as they describe it as a nontraditional English Bitter.  This beer pours amber with a good persistent white head.  Aroma is of caramel supported by some bready notes, with a touch of hop spiciness.  Flavor carries over from the aroma with some noticeable butteriness as you may suspect from an English Bitter.  This is a nice drinkable beer checking in at 5.9 % ABV, an interesting change the American Pale Ales and IPAs.  Grade wise I give it a "B".

Second beer was Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale http://www.blacksheepbrewery.com/beers/holy_grail_bottled_beer/  from Black Sheep Brewery in Masham England.  The beer pours medium copper with a white head.  Aroma is of malt sweetness supported by light fruity esters.  Flavor is much the same as the aroma with some slight buttery notes added in as you would suspect from an English Pale Ale.  Hops are subdued behind the sweet malt but are still present.  The beer checks in at 4.7% ABV, so this could be a session beer if so desired.  Another interesting English style beer. Grade wise I give it a "B+"

If you find either beer I would suggest giving them a try.  Also I would say to give Cafe Indigo a try if you have not been there.  They do a great job making you feel comfortable and important, you are truly a guest here.

Also I want to mention the Special Tapping at Great River today for their new beer Widespread Wit.  The festivities start at 2pm, with the golden keg at 1pm.  I am planning on meeting my wife and some friends there to try the new beer.  I'm looking forward to trying their take on a Belgian Wit.  Hope to see you there.

QC Beerguy

Weyerbacher Heresy and La Trappe Quadrupel

At my favorite place in La Crosse, Bodega Brew Pub.  I have talked about this awesome beer bar before so I will not say more.  Tonight I had a couple new beers to me, here are my thoughts on them.

First Weyerbacher Heresy http://weyerbacher.com/blog/2010/02/heresy/ an Imperial Stout aged in a whiskey barrel.  I had it on tap, it pours black with a thin tan head.  Aroma is of chocolate, licorice, dark roast and coffee.  Taste is of all of the above with a slight hint of whiskey.  The body does become a bit thinner as the beer warms.  The beer checks in at 8.0% ABV, it is a wonderful beer that on a grade I would rate it as a "B".  If it had a bigger body it could of been an "A''.  This beer does a great job of hiding the alcohol that is in it.

Second beer is La Trappe Quadrupel http://www.latrappe.nl/content.asp?m=M7&s=P19&l=EN a Belgian Quad.  This is a Trappist Quad that is aged in oak barrels.  It checks in at 10.0 % ABV.  It pours a deep amber with a white head.  The aroma is at first peppery with malt and a slight sulfur note.  Taste is sweet caramel with a bit of candy sugar, only the alcohol offsets the sweetness.  The alcohol is very noticeable. It lacks the depth I would expect from a Belgian Quad.  It comes across a bit cloying and slightly medicinal from the alcohol.    I would rate it a "C+".   A nice Belgian Quad but not a favorite of mine.  If the alcohol was less noticeable and the beer was less sweet I would rank it higher.

QC Beerguy 

Surly Schadenfreude and Lift Bridge Crosscut Pale Ale

Tonight I am reviewing a couple new beers to me, my editor told me I need do a few more beer reviews.

First up Surly Schadenfreude http://www.surlybrewing.com/beer/surly-beer-seasonal-beers.html as they describe it a German Style Dunkel Lager.  It is a dunkel aged on toasted MN oak, an interesting idea.  My overall impression is this is a good beer but not great.  It is a very dark brown if not black beer with a tan head.  Aroma wise it is malty sweet with a bit of chocolate.  Flavor wise the malt and chocolate carry through from the aroma, also strong oak comes through.  As the beer warms a smokiness becomes apparent.  Also the beer seems to become thinner as the beer warms.  As I said a good but not great beer, if you can find this beer get it to give it a try.

Second beer up is Lift Bridge Crosscut Pale Ale http://www.liftbridgebrewery.com/Crosscut_Pale_Ale.aspx an interesting pale ale. On the label they say it is brewed with grapefruit, at the web site they say brewed with grapefruit zest which makes more sense to me.  It is a deep gold beer with a white head.  The aroma is of cascade hops and malty sweetness.  The flavor is of strong grapefruit with a caramel sweet backbone.  As the beer warms it starts to develop a slightly bitter pith from the grapefruit.  It is a good American pale ale that you should look out for and find it and drink it.

QC Beerguy

JDC and a Friend's Birthday

On Friday my wife and I had the opportunity to go out to the John Deere Classic for the day.  We had a great day at the tournament but quickly learned that the PGA Tour has no idea what good beer is!  I am sure that AB Inbev pays a princely sum to be the sole supplier to the PGA Tour, but at least have one "craft" beer from their stable of beers.  Instead they presented Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra, the good thing it was not horribly expensive at $4 a can.  So we had a couple Mich Ultra a piece.  Needless to say we did not go to the tournament to drink great beer but see some really great golfers.

On Saturday we were invited with a group of friends to celebrate one of our friends 40th Birthday!  It was a great day and involved many stops along the way.  First stop was the Bier Stube in Moline http://www.bier-stube.com/, for Lunch and a beer.  As those in the QC know there are 3 Bier Stubes in the QC area, so if you want a little bit of German in you go visit one.

Some of us made a quick stop next door at Bent Riverhttp://www.bentriverbrewery.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 for a beer, while our host went ahead to get the tickets for our excursion. My wife and I both had a hefeweizen, we both thought it was lacking as a beer.  First it was clear instead of cloudy like it should of been and the typical clove and banana flavors were lacking.  So this is not a good attempt at a hefe.  We finished our beers and headed to the next stop the Celebration Belle http://www.celebrationbelle.com/.

We met the rest of our group and proceed to board the ship and from our first steps on the ship we were bombarded by Japanese Beetles.  The cruise was great fun and very informative, I know I learned facts about the area I never knew.  The beer selection was lacking with the typical American lagers and the imports of Heineken and Corona, but they also had liquor as well.  They are not in the business of please the beer lovers but are in the business of pleasing the sightseers and they do a good job of that.  So go for the cruise not for the beer and watch out for the Japanese Beetles.

Onward and downstream we made a stop at Bluecat Brewpub http://www.bluecatbrewpub.com/ for some appetizers and of course beer.  Just this week they had put the Howling Man Imperial IPA on tap, this certainly presented a lot of hops in the aroma and it is strong and malty to offset the hops.  To my liking though I would like a bit of a crisper and dry finish, perhaps a larger amount of dry hops could help on that.  My wife had the Tucks Tenacious Trippel a favorite of both of ours.

Then a slight diversion over to Hickey Brothers Cigar Store http://hickeybrothers.com/ for a cigar and Bell's Oberon.  This place is really cool, the walls are lined with display cases of cigars and once you chosen your cigar you can grab a seat and smoke your cigar.  They do a great job making the customer comfortable.  The only catch is if you want to enjoy some adult beverages you have to carry in, the wonderful laws of Rock Island and Illinois will not allow them to serve adult beverages.   So we had a mini keg of Bell's Oberon and provided our own cups and beer.  A word of warning, come armed with your adult beverages of choice, otherwise just sit back and relax.

Next stop Front Street http://frontstreetbrew.com/ in Davenport, IA.  My wife ordered a Hefeweizen, this one was much more to style than the one at Bent River.  I looked the part and tasted the part as well, but not as good as some past batches they have made.  Also we found out that there are plans to put a roof over the patio area, but not to totally enclose the patio with walls.  I look forward to this change since I enjoy sitting on their patio.

Just a couple blocks away was our next stop Great River Brewery  http://greatriverbrewery.com/.  Speaking of changes their patio area is now surrounded by a fence and the red truck is gone.  Needless to say this does provide more sitting space on the patio area which is great.  Also the Hydra Ale is now all gone, so people must of liked the beer and drank it up.  Coming up on July 16th is the tapping of Widespread Wit from 2-6pm with golden keg tapping at 1pm.  Looking forward to trying this beer, Belgian wits are great summer beers.

Finally we made it to Tattoria Tiramisu http://www.trattoria-tiramisu.com/ in Bettendorf.  They have a menu full of choices for anyone that likes Italian food.  Also they have a varied beer menu, the big surprise is that they only have one Italian beer, Peroni.  Not sure why that is but would like to see more Italian beer options at an Italian restaurant.  They can handle big groups like ours to a couple out by theirselves.  When they are busy the service can be a bit slow but they do try their best.

After dinner a couple of couples called it a night, including my wife and I while the rest carried on.  They wound up going to a new bar The Clubhouse http://www.qcclubhouse.com/qcclubhouse.com/Welcome.html in Bettendorf, IA.  This place has golf simulators and from what our friends told us a good beer selection as well.  So I know my wife and I will have to check this place out in the near future.

QC Beerguy

Beer Shirts

Last evening I was leaving the bar and grill I ate at in Spencer, IA and had a brief conversation with a woman that was outside smoking, all because of the beer shirt I had on.  She noticed I was wearing my Beer Connoisseur shirt and she said  that her boyfriend had that shirt as well.  She continued on telling me that they have recently begun homebrewing and were greatly enjoying the hobby.  At that point the man she was standing with, but not her boyfriend, pipes up saying I can just get a six pack from the local store why make your own.  Both the women and I agreed that it is fun and gives you a sense of accomplishment when you drink what you made.

Shortly after that, on my way back to my hotel, I started thinking about some of the reactions I receive when I wear various beer shirts.  One that I almost always receive comments on is the I heart(love) beer shirt, I received from a beer tour at Old Chicago.  Usually it goes something like this I am walking along and a guy is walking the other way says something like, "Cool Shirt".

I know I also receive smiles, nods or some other reaction to other shirts as well.  Including my "Abs of Ale" shirt from Square One Brewery in St. Louis.  Also my latest shirt receiving attention is the "Seven Heads are Better Than One" Hydra Shirt from Great River Brewing in Davenport, IA.  There are several others that receive some kind of reaction.

I can not help but laugh at the attention I receive when I wear some well thought out beer shirts from various breweries or beer bars.  It has become a great art to think up funny or quirky sayings to put on a shirt.  I know it gets me to buy them and the shirts do receive attention.  The thing I question though, is if the people that read the shirts actually remember where the shirts are from?  Maybe some do but I am sure most do not.  Yet it is a fun thing to wear these shirts and see the reactions from the people I pass.

I will continue to keep an eye out for shirts to add to my collection and see what reactions they will receive.

QC Beerguy

Watching a beer discussion

Tonight I went to Lazlo's in Lincoln, NE and sat at the bar and observed an interesting discussion about beer between two couples.  One couple was two women, locals, and the other couple was a man and woman, from Colorado. The two couples had a light hearted  discussion on beer, beer travel, beer fests and what they look for in a beer.  The discussion was so intriguing that I could not help but listen in every once in a while.  It is great to see fellow beer lovers talking the gospel of good beer and interacting with other beer lovers. 

I have been to Lazlo's only a few times and have yet to see a consistent bartender so I am just another customer.  I am not recognized by my name or as the QCBG, so I just can sit in oblivion and be a regular customer.  Sometimes it is good to just be another face and not be recognized by anyone.

All in all it was a good and relaxing night. I look forward to more nights like tonight while I am on the road.

QC Beerguy

 

Brewing a bach of Hydra at home

Today I finally had an opportunity to brew my clone batch of the Hydra Ale I helped brew at Great River Brewing on Big Brew Day the first Saturday of May.  The day we brewed we all went home with an all grain recipe so we could brew it ourselves, since I do not do all grain I had to modify the recipe to an extract version. Needless to say I am hoping that this extract version will turn out close to some of the all grain versions I have had so far.  I look forward to a few weeks down the road to taste the final product. 

The brewing day went off with no problems.  I started off bringing my water up to a boil and then adding my DME and the first dose of hops at 60 minutes.  The second hop addition at 30 minutes and third was at 0 minutes.  At flame out I started cooling the wort and a short while later I was able to transfer it to the carboy and add yeast to ferment the wort.  I took a OG reading and it was 1.040 just about where the software said it would be.  I tasted the wort and was pleased it was slightly grainy with a nice citrus flavor to it.  So I am anticipating that it will turn out close to the original beer in taste.

It was a nice to have an opportunity to brew again and looking forward to doing a few more batches this summer.

QC Beerguy